Anambe

The oldest records place the Anambe on the left bank of the Tocantins River, near the headwaters of the Pacajá River, and later in the vicinity of Baião. Contact with regional society brought wars with other peoples and, in the 19th century, a smallpox epidemic that killed a large part of the survivors.

Pressed by other groups, they crossed into the Moju basin and finally settled on the Cairari. For a long time they were confused with the Amanajé and the Turiwara, until they began to identify themselves again as Anambe. In the 20th century, disease reduced the people to fewer than twenty individuals, and after that they began to recover, largely through marriages with non-Indigenous people. In 1982 they were taken to a reserve on the Guamá River, but they did not adapt and returned to the Cairari.

Anambe life revolves around the family plot, where they grow cassava, which is made into flour, as well as corn and other foods. The surplus is sold, usually in the town of Mocajuba. Hunting, fishing and gathering wild fruit complete the table, and the people also raise pigs, ducks and chickens.

For several generations the Anambe have married people from outside, who are welcomed into the village along with their children. Over time, many elements of the traditional culture, such as ceremonies and rites of passage, were set aside, and today Portuguese is the language of daily life. Even so, the people remain firm in their resolve to stay on the Cairari and to affirm their identity before regional society.

The traditional religion of the Anambe was gradually undone by centuries of contact. The last shamans died around 1968, and the old ceremonies ceased to be practiced. Today the spiritual life of the people is shaped by the influence of Catholic priests and a neighboring Pentecostal community, and their view of life after death is Christian.

For many, faith is less a studied doctrine and more an inheritance lived out in the family and in daily life with the neighbors. Without shamans or ceremonies to pass on the knowledge of the elders, the people live a mixed spirituality, and the invitation to know Jesus closely, as one who speaks to the heart, remains open.

The complete Bible exists in Portuguese, the language the Anambe use every day. The Anambe language, now almost out of use, has no known translated Scriptures, and the people communicate mainly in Portuguese. The challenge, therefore, is to bring the Word of God clearly to families who know it little, in accessible formats such as audio and storytelling, that respect the oral tradition and the history of the people.

The greatest obstacle is the size of the people: small and discreet, they easily go unnoticed, and few Christians know that the Anambe exist. Part of the religious history of the region came from outside, amid difficult encounters, which can breed caution toward those who approach with a religious message. Added to this is the fact that faith is lived more as custom and family inheritance than as a personal relationship with Christ, and that village life is increasingly mixed with that of the surrounding society.

The Anambe face pressure on their land, in a region increasingly affected by the advance of agribusiness, and the memory of having once been removed from it. They also face the difficulty of keeping their identity and traditions alive amid regional life. They need recognition, security over their territory and support so that the young may know the heritage of their grandparents.

Spiritually, they need friends who come with respect, listen to their story and proclaim Jesus as one who knows them by name, and a healthy community of faith to walk with them in discipleship.

The Anambe already live alongside a neighboring Pentecostal community and the presence of Catholic priests. This shows that the Christian message is not entirely foreign to the people and that there are bridges of contact already open in the region, even though much remains to be built in terms of discipleship and personal faith.